Sector Update: Tech Stocks Gain Late Afternoon

03:45 PM EDT, 09/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks advanced late Tuesday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) adding 0.7% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) rising 1.7%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index added 1.8%. In sector news, President Donald Trump has rejected calls to impose new regulations on the development of AI, saying US authorities will be able to rein in the sector if needed, media outlets reported Tuesday. In corporate news, SpaceX's (SPCX) SpaceXAI Grok Bot AI agent has exceeded 400,000 weekly users nearly a month after launch, Bloomberg reported, citing a company presentation shared at an event in London. Grok Bot hit 418,000 users as of Sept. 14, up 24% from the prior week, the report said. SpaceX shares were up 1.1%. Alibaba (BABA) unveiled its newest AI chip on Tuesday along with updates to its AI models, agent platforms and cloud infrastructure, as the Chinese giant looks to strengthen its position in the AI industry. Its shares rose 0.7%. Amazon-backed (AMZN) Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei will brief the UN Security Council on Wednesday alongside Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a meeting about the future of AI, Bloomberg reported. Amazon shares were down 1%, and Microsoft was shedding 0.5%. Apple (AAPL) is developing a screenless fitness tracker similar to Whoop's wrist device, Bloomberg reported. Apple shares added 0.3%.